1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a timer controlled multipole circuit breaker, more particularly to such a circuit breaker having a pair of breaker contacts in each pole which is controlled by an incorporated electric timer to be closed and opened according to a predetermined timing schedule.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Due to the recent concern for energy conservation, load management system is being called for utilizing the off-peak time or night electricity power of reduced fee afforded by utilities. To this end, circuit breakers are desired to include a timer for controlling to turn on the load at the onset of the reduced fee power band and reopen the same at the expiration thereof. A circuit breaker available for this purpose is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,687 to incorporate an electric timer. The circuit breaker of this patent is designed for a single pole application and consequently the incorporated electric timer should have at least one external lead wired to the power supply outside of the breaker housing even when the timer is powered by the common power on the line terminal of the circuit breaker. Such wiring of the external lead of the timer outside of the breaker housing is inconvenient and rather difficult at the installation site, particularly when the breaker is required to be closely mounted in a limited space.